Fluid-circulating system



Dec. 11 1923.

L. LARSEN FLUID GIRGULATING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 2 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1923. 1,477,270

L. LARSEN FLUID CIRCULATING SYSTEM I Filed Aug. 2, 1922 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR A TTORNE Y Patented Dec. 11, 1923. L

nivirsn stares remit;-

PATENT] 0mm LOUIS LARSEN, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR,'BY MESNE'A SSIGNMENTS,

TO SUNDH ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEXV JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FLUID-CIRCULATING SYSTEM.

To all to from it may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS LARsnN, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fluid-Circulatmg Systems, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a fluid circulating system, specifically a motordriven pumping installation in which a centrifugal or similar pump, or fan, is employed to eifect the circulation of the fluid; and it has for its object the prevention of tho hammering of the check vali e or valves, ordinarily provided to automatically prerent a reverse flow of the fluid, when the pump or fan is stopped.

In pumping installations, such for exam- ")lc are used in connection with public and sometimes private water-supply and sewage-disposal plants, where a centrifugal pump is employed to raise large quantities of water or other fluid, the hammering of The check valve whenever the pump is stopped, due to the immediate reduction of lhe driving pressure which allows suction a d the back pressure thereon to slam the check valve down upon its seat, causes great,

often intolerable anno ance and often re sults in serious damage.

The problem involved has never heretofore been solved. @n the contrary, the difficulty has been avoided, merely, by doing away altogether with the simple, automatic and otherwise. satisfactory check valve and using in place thereof some form of slide valve which is either operated manually or, as is frequently the case, is equipped with expensive mechanism for its automatic operation in order to avoid the trouble and inconvenienceof having to open and'close it by hand. I

l have discovered, however, that the hammering of the check valve can be entirely obviated by a simple manipulation o the moto: or other engine used todrive the pump, which consists, when shutting down the plant. in slowing down the motor and pump to so reduce the discharge from the pump as to substantially balance the fluid pressure on the opposite sides of the valve, allowing the valve to close by gravity in thequiescent.

fluid, and then stopping the pump, or, as a modification thereof, in first stopping or slowing down the motor and pump to re duce the pressure against the valve and to alloW the back pressure thereon to partially close it, then temporarily restarting the v pump to so increase thepressure astoat least check the momentum of the valve" shortly before it reaches its seat, and finally stopping the pump before the" valve has been reopened and allowing it to seatitself without material shock. The conditions differ more or less in different installations, but" the engineer in charge will be able, after a few tests, to determine both the extent and duration of the changes in pressure required in a particular installation to secure the desired result.

The invention also comprises a motor control system, for an electrically driven pump,

in which a novel timing relay, adjustable'to varying conditions, serves when energized to effect the starting of'the motor and the out ting out of the starting resistance in its circuit 1n the usual manner and when de-energized Wlll effect the opemng of the motor circuit and the cutting in of the resistance current motor equipped with my new automatic control; Fig. 2, a diagram illustrating a modification of the control system as aplied to a direct current or sin le hase alternating current motor; Fig. 3, a-diagram illustrating the application of the control system to a polyphase alternating current motor; Figs. 4 and 5, views illustrating, in side and front elevation respectively, the preferred form of the timing relay shown diagrammatically in the preceding figures;

and Figs. 6. 7 and 8., detached views of the three switches ofthe timing relay, correspending to Fig. i but on an enlarged scale. The same parts are indicated by the same reference characters throughout the several figures. V I I Referring first to Fig. l of the drawings, P indicates the pump of a pumping installation, and D the pipe or conduit which is connected with the-discharge side of the pump and which is provided with the check valve V. The pump is driven by the motor M, a. shunt motor as here shown, which is operatively connected thereto in any suitable manner. The control system of the moi-.01 comprises the two sections of starting resistance R R, the contactorsC C C" which controlthe motor .circuit and the resistance, the timing relay T, and the actuating circuit connectionsc, which with a pilot switch 8 therein controls the timing relay, and b c d e e ande", which are controlled by the timing relay and in turn Conner the contactors. The timing relay consists, essentially, of a magnet coil. 10, armature 11 wh ch when the magnet coil is energized is instantaneously drawn theren or thereto and when the magnet coil is deenergiz ed will fall back or move therefrom under the control of the dash-pot 21, and of thr eeswitch members 31 32 and 33, each controlling a. set of, contacts in one of the actuating circuits, which are so operatively connected with the armature that, when the magnet coil is energizechtwo of the switches, 31 and 33 as shown, will be held in open position and the remaining switch 32 will beheld in closedposition and, when the magnet coil is d e-energized and as the arma ture falls away therefrom, one of the closed switches fig as shown, will first be moved to open positiomthen the open switch 32 will be moved to closed, position, and finally the other open swit h 31 will be moved to open position, in which positions the switches will beheld until the magnet coil is again energized.

The operation of the control system in the starting and stopping of the motor and pump is as follows: The line switch beclosed, on the closing of the pilot switch 8 current flows from the positive to the'iiegw tive main over the wire a, thus energizing the magnet coil 10 of the timing relay which attracts the armature 11 and thereby effects first the closing of the contacts controlled v the switchmember 31, then the opening of the contacts controlled by the snitch member 32, and finally the closing of the contacts controlled by the switch men'iber 33. but in such rapid succession 'that'the circuit completed by the closure of the switch member 81 does not have time to actuate the contactors before it is broken by the openinc; 'ot the switch member 32. Thereupon current flows-from the positive main over a portion of the Wire (a, the wire I; and switch 31, the wire d and switch 33, and the wire a through the coil of the contactor C to the negative main, actuating the contactor C which in turn closes the actuating circuit 6 of the next c'ontactor C, and so on, and thereby effecting the closingof the motor circuit and the cutti'ng'o'ut otthe'secti'oiis ot'resistance'in the usual 111311 15191. To close down the plant, the pilot switch .9 is opened, breaking the circuit oi the wire a and deenergizing the. coil of the timing relay. Thereupon, as the armature slowly falls back under the control of the dash-pot, the connection of the actuating circuit wire 6 with thepositive main is first broken at the contacts controlled by the switchmember 33,

thus de-energizingthe coils of all three contactors and thereby stopping the motor, 1s then after a time interval again established by the bridging of the contacts controlled by the switch member 32, thereby causing the actuation'of the contactor C and restartingthe motor, and finally after another time interval is broken at the contacts controlled lowed the check valve to artiall 1 close will be restarted in time to check the momentum of the valve before it reaches its seat but will not be kept running long enough to reopen the valve. F or example, in one specific installation it has been found that acjustments oi? the timing device by which are secured time intervals second between the opening of the contacts controlled by the switch 33 and the closing of the contacts controlled by the .v'ltCll arm 32 and of five seconds between the closing of the latter contacts and the opening of the contacts controlled by the switch arm 31 will assure an easy noiseless closing of the check valve.

In the modification of the control system illustrated in 2,'a relay 7" is added for the" control of the actuating circuit wire 0 which is connected back to the positive main, and the timing relay, which in the control system of Fig. 1 directly controls the connections of this wire with the positive main, here controls the circuit through the coil of the relay and thereby indirectly the connection of the actuating circuitwire 6 with the positive main. The operation of the device. which is obvious, is substantially the same as before, but the employment of the relay reduces the amount of current carried by the conta ts or the timing reny and sopcrmits the use of smaller contacts.

The control system illustrated in Fig. 3 differs from that shown in Fig. it only in the fact that the contactors, which are conof one trolled by the timing relay, are adapted and used for the control of the three wires, and

of sections of resistance in the three wires polyphase 'alterner to the usual slate panel. The lower end of the armature is adjustably connected, by a threaded rod 1& pivoted therein, to the .inner short arm of an elbow-lever 15, which in turn is pivoted to a standard 16 mount ed on the panel. The outer end of the long arm of this lever is connected by the link 18 to the piston 19 of the dash-pot 21, mounted upon the outer end of the standard 16, and a spring 17, interposed between the base of the standard and a lug on .the lever, serves to counterbalance the weight of the piston. The dash-pot piston is provided with the usual valve-controlled by-pas's 20, the valve being arranged to allow the free downward movement of the piston within the cylinder and to retard its upward movement, and an adjustable air vent 22 is also provided in the head of the cylinder. Secured to the opposite sides of the armature are two rods 23 which attheir lower ends carry bars 24, of insulating material, which in turn carry, adjustably mounted in threaded openings therein, three screw rods 25 26 27 in operative relation with lugs 28 29 and 30 projecting respectively from the backs of the switch members 31 32 and 33. Each of the three switch members, which are substantially alike, is pivotally mounted in a bracket 35 secured to the panel in electrical con nection with a binding post 36 at the back thereof, carries at its outer end a contact 37, co -operating with a fixed contact 38 carried in a socket 39 secured to the panel in,

electrical connection with a binding post 40, and is normally biased to closed position by a spring 43 interposed between the base of the bracket andthe tail 44 of the switch member. It will be noted that the switch members 31 and 33 are so placed that the actuating rods 25 and 27 will be pressed against the lugs 29 and 30, opening their contacts and compressing the springs 43, whenever the magnet coil is de-energized and the armature fall's away therefrom but will be withdrawn so as to allow the springs to close the switch contacts when the magnet coil is de-energized and attracts the armature, while the position of the switch mem- -.ber 32 is reversed so that its actuation is just the opposite of that of the others. By properly adjusting the length of the switch actuated rods, the connection between the armature and the dash-pot piston, and the size of the vent .in the cylinder of the dashpot, the timingdevice can be adapted to use under widelyvarying conditions.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure I by Letters Patent, is a 1. In a fluid circulating system provided with a check valve, the method of stopping the circulation of the fluid which comprises an adjustment of the pressure of the fluid against the valve which will assure the closing of the valve without substantial shock.

2. In a fluid circulating system provided with a check valve, the method of stopping the circulation of the fluid comprising an adjustment of the vpressure of the fluid against the check valve which, allows the valve to partially close and then checks the momentum of the valve before it reaches its seat, and finally permits it to seat itself bee fore it has been reopened.

3; In a fluid circulating-system provided with a check valve, the combination with means for creating a pressure of fluid which will eflect the desired circulation thereof and 1 thereby open the valve of means for controlling said pressure creating means whereby to secure an adjustment of the fluid res-.7 I i i sure which will assure the closing 0' the valve without substantial shoc 4:. In a fluid circulating system provided K with a check valve, the combination with means for creating a pressure of fluid which will effect the desired circulation thereof and thereby openthe valve of control means operative automatically to secure, when stopping the circulation of the fluid, anadjustment of the fluid pressure which will assure the closing of the valve without substantial shock.

5. In a fluid circulating system provided, witha check valve, the combination with means for creating a pressure of fluid which will effect the desired circulation thereof and thereby open the valve of means for control--.

6. In a fluid circulating system, the combination of a conduit, fluid pressure supply means for causing the circulation of the fluid through the conduit, a check valve insaid' conduit adapted to prevent a reverse flow of the fluid, and control means operative to ef- 7 feet an adjustment of the fluid pressure which will permit the closing of the valve without substantial shock.

7. In a fluid circulating system, the combination of a conduit, fluid pressure supply means for causing the circulation of the fluid through the conduit, a check valvc in said conduit adapted to prevent. a reverse flow of a sistance in its circuit of a plurality of contactors controlling each a section of the resistance actuating circuits for the contactors whereby the actuation of one effects the actuation of the next contactor and the release of one effects the release of all contactors and an electromagnetically controlled relay operative When energized to eflect the closing, and When tie-energized t0 efl ect first the opening and then at a determinable time interval thereafter the closing and the reopening, of the actuating circuit of the first contactor.

LOUIS LARS EN. 

